Inspiring stories

In a blog published ahead of the African Private Capital Association's annual conference, Managing Partner Barthout van Slingelandt argues that the frontier/non-frontier distinction is often overstated. Instead, successful investing depends on understanding local markets, opportunities and risks, and staying close to the businesses on the ground.

XSML Capital has completed the final close of African Rivers Fund IV (ARF IV) at US$ 142 million, exceeding its hard cap of US$ 135 million. This is a major milestone, showing strong investor confidence in our investment strategy, impact track record, and ability to support growing SMEs in underserved markets, such as Angola, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), Uganda, and Zambia.

Our Partner Jarl Heijstee joins the Private Credit Summit at SuperReturn Africa on Tuesday, 2 December, sharing insights on credit best practices and common pitfalls. In this blog: Private Credit: Unlocking Growth for Africa’s SMEs, Jarl breaks down five reasons entrepreneurs increasingly choose private credit—from flexible growth capital to cross-border support.

A new report from GSG Impact explores the “invisible” impact of SME financing through secondary mobilisation — when DFIs and investors provide capital to financial intermediaries, who in turn catalyse even more funding for SMEs. This indirect impact is often overlooked and rarely measured. The report offers recommendations to better understand, track, and scale this form of capital mobilisation to strengthen SME finance ecosystems.

XSML Capital has been named to the ImpactAssets 50 for the first time. We're proud to be recognised for the impact we’ve built over 15 years of investing in SMEs in Angola, the DRC, Kenya, Uganda, and Zambia. In markets where capital and expertise are scarce, our work has helped create jobs and expand access to goods and services. 

XSML Capital features in the new report “How Can African SME Funds Mobilize More Capital? Data and Lessons from Pioneering LPs and GPs”. Published by Investisseurs & Partenaires (I&P), the report offers a detailed look at the fundraising landscape, fund models, and return profiles of SME funds across Africa — and shares lessons from experienced investors on how to scale capital flows to the sector.

"The lion’s share of private capital in Africa goes to just six or seven countries," writes Impact Alpha reporter Lucy  Ngige. "XSML has spent the last 15 years trying to push more private investors into some of the others."

Are you passionate about ESG and sustainability? Do you like working with SME companies to make day-to-day ESG management fun and meaningful? Do you have experience with international E&S standards including the IFC Performance Standards? And are you fluent in French?

We are looking for you! Please read the full job description and apply now!

We have become a member of the Joint Impact Model (JIM) to expand our impact metrics. The JIM provides a harmonized and transparent technology for financial intermediaries to measure the indirect job creation and greenhouse gas emissions of portfolio companies.

XSML Capital, a leading provider of growth capital to SMEs in Central and Eastern Africa, has launched its 4^th fund, African Rivers Fund IV (ARF IV), with a first close of US$ 98.7 million. The new funding allows XSML to double its investments and impact over the coming years and follow investees into new markets like Zambia.

In an article about the finance deficit for African SMEs, the French newspaper le Figaro writes about fund managers addressing the issue. "The dimension of the small enterprise (Zuri, red.) really changed from 2021 thanks to two loans totalling US$ 800,000 from XSML Capital", according to le Figaro.

“You want to start a business, but unfortunately banks are not the best to take that type of risk if there’s no collateral," says Gisela van Houcke, founder of Zuri, one of XSML's investees.